Too fat to fly

By Jeremy Skidmore

British holidaymakers are becoming too fat to fit into conventional airline seats, according to new research.

Two thirds of men are now too broad-shouldered for their neighbours' comfort in 16-inch aircraft seats, the standard size in economy on many aircraft.

The average man measured two inches more than women across the shoulders, at 16.5 inches. Only one woman in seven was too broad for a seat.

However, women were more likely to feel the pinch around the hips. Between 1951 and 2002, the average female has put on 1.5 inches around the hips, and one woman in five now finds a 16-inch seat too narrow.

Statistics for men were unavailable in 1951.

The analysis comes from SizeUK, a nationwide sizing survey, carried out on behalf of the tour operator First Choice.

A spokesman for First Choice, which claims that three quarters of its aircraft offer seats with shoulder width of 17.8 inches, said it would use the findings to lobby for an industry-wide standard for seat width.

"In the past, airlines have tended to push extra leg room as a selling point," he said. "But while it is common knowledge that people are taller than they used to be, the survey is the first to show just how much wider they have become."